“I protest that no one admires Cicero more than I do. He enriches all that he touches.”

—  François Fénelon

Je proteste que personne n'admire Cicéron plus que je fais: il embellit tout ce qu’il touche.
Lettre sur les Occupations de l'Académie Française, sect. 4, cited from Œuvres de Fénelon (Paris: Lefèvre, 1835) vol. 3, p. 227; translation from Paul Bertie Bull Preaching and Sermon Construction (New York: Macmillan, 1922) p. 256. (1714)
Cf. Dr. Johnson's epitaph for Oliver Goldsmith: "…qui nullum fere scribendi genus non tetigit, nullum quod tetigit non ornavit," ("…who left no species of writing untouched by his pen, and touched none that he did not adorn").

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Je proteste que personne n'admire Cicéron plus que je fais: il embellit tout ce qu’il touche.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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François Fénelon 43
Catholic bishop 1651–1715

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